Over the past 20 years I have owned and operated, in both my project studio and live SR gigs, a long list of A&H consoles. A wonderful 24 channel analog desk that I gave to a church near me then a QU16 and later a QUsb that I wound up giving to my grandsons for their garage band. The SQ5, that replaced the QU16, was the best of the bunch: however I discovered very little sonic quality difference between the newly acquired CQ20b and my SQ5. For my solo acoustic guitar/vocal &/or Bluegrass gigs the CQ20b is a “set up and leave it” no brainer.
Given the fact that over the past 10 years all of my studio recording and live post production work has been with my Waves Digigrid LV1 system. So when the new LV1 classic console with their newly developed 32 bit pres, that replaced the Digico D pres in my IOX, was clearly much better for my work flow.
I bought a DX168 along with my SQ5 4 years ago and was impressed with the improvement the DX168 D-Live pres made in sonic quality over the internal SQ Pres. My KV2 FOH & wedge monitors provide a clear comparison for detailed transparency and initially the DX168 was the big time winner. However the 32 bit primes offered world class clarity that I had never before experienced with the acoustic music I have produced over the past 50 years. I had to putchase a high priced Digico DX32 housing to deploy the prized new Prime I/Os. When coupled with my Flea 47 tube mic the magic happened. The new Waves Classic desk offers 32 bit programable pres that match if not surpass the A&H primes so I have sold my SQ5 and hope to find a buyer for the DX32 to finish the crossover to the LV1 clasic.
THe CQ20b is a plug up and play desk for novice dunmmies and old timers, like me, that are only interested in summing a few mics with high quality SR output with out a bunch of FX embellishment. There is no difference between the CQ and the SQ in this regard. The waves plug-ins are much much better in use for SR problem solving than the current A&H alternatives. This is why a Waves card is an automatic addition to most all large format applications. Given my history and use pattern what would make the SQ Rack a better option for me than my CQ20b?
Hugh
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